Style in a Suitcase
Monday, Jun 6 2011

This previous weekend, I finally started packing for my trip to Europe. I pulled skirts, tops, dresses and cardigans out of my closet that I thought I might want to take as a starting point. As I laid them all out in our study, there were immediately a few pieces that I pulled out, i.e. a chocolate brown skirt that I love. I knew I needed to stick to one basic color palette and black and gray were the dominant colors already. So on the first try, I was left with this:

I knew immediately that this selection was excessive. I pulled out the black and white animal-print cardigan (don’t need it as I’m bringing one long black cardigan and one light gray and white cardigan) and a linen (won’t travel well!) denim-looking skirt. I also got rid of the hot pink shirt, knowing that the French and Italian don’t wear a lot of flashy colors. I was left with 4 skirts, 2 black pants, 4 dresses and about 6 tops. And I know – that sounds like a lot for a 10-day trip. But I don’t want to be completely limited. I have already started putting the clothes into my small suitcase. So far, so good!

If you know me or have ever traveled with me, you know that I’m a notorious over-packer, so I’m considering this quite an accomplishment. (I am bringing a light cotton dress in my carry-on as a change of clothes, just in case my luggage goes missing, but that dress is included in my total count above.)

Naturally, I am getting super excited about my trip. However, this packing experience has taught me that it’s really time to refine and define my style. I have WAY more clothes in my closet than I need or even like. If I can pack for a 10-day trip in this small suitcase and still feel “classically chic,” then it’s time to really start weeding out the closet and shopping smarter. But that will have to wait until after the trip.

Oh, and I did manage to squeeze in a light gray belt. 😉

So I’m considering this trip the start of my style-refining journey. If you could only pack 10 days’ worth of clothes in a small suitcase, what would you pick? Do you feel like your closet is already well-edited or, like me, would this little project make you realize that you need to refine your style?